1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiple target station for multiple energy particle beam bombardment. The apparatus and method have particular utility in connection with radioisotope production.
2. Description of Related Information
The use of cyclotrons and linear accelerators for radioisotope production is known in the art. To produce a radioisotope, the accelerated particle beam produced by a cyclotron or linear accelerator is used to bombard a target.
For efficiency of production, it is desirable to simultaneously bombard multiple targets at multiple energies. To bombard multiple targets, geometrical splitting techniques are used on the accelerated particle beam. One such technique known in the art employs stripping foils, which may be configured to create electrostatic extraction channels to split the beam. However, the use of stripping foils creates limitations: only two, or perhaps three, targets can be simultaneously bombarded. An even greater drawback is that each individual target station is limited to a fixed, predetermined energy and a set fraction of the incident beam.
The present invention does not limit the number of targets that may be simultaneously bombarded. Additionally, each target may be used for the entire range of available energies. A further advantage of the present invention is that the fraction of the incident beam and the energy bombarding a single target can be readily adjusted.
The present invention employs a series of magnets placed along the path of the particle beam to control the beam. The magnets allow the beam to be focused, permitting the use of multiple energy levels. The magnets also allow the pulses of a pulsed particle beam to be directed towards individual targets on a pulse-by-pulse basis. Linear accelerators allow for particle beam pulses, or bursts, of several predetermined energy levels to be generated in a particle beam path.